Why Go Digital?

• Students can keep all of their notes organized in one place, rather than keeping track of multiple notebooks. When students integrate notes from days they were absent, continuity can be maintained.
• Students get built-in spell checking, search tools, and easy editing.
• Audio, video, pictures, and hyperlinks can be integrated to enrich the notebook.
• Notebook checks could be accomplished by dragging the notebook file to the Hand-in Robot with no paper changing hands!
• Notebook content can be cut-and-pasted into abbreviated study guides or expanded assignments.

Examples

bootcamp.doc Details Download 1 MB
Mark's Notebook File From The Bootcamp Day	Word Notebook	PowerPoint Notes

What Digital Tool Should I Choose?

• Whichever tool you choose, give thought to:
  • how you will manage the class to ensure that students do not use the laptop as a distraction from your lesson;
  • what you want students to accomplish by taking notes (since the content could be easily transferred to the student in other ways).
• Word has a Notebook View, which is designed for this purpose. Many students and teachers are already comfortable with Word menus and tools.
• PowerPoint has a Notes section. Teachers could give students a skeletal PowerPoint file through the Teacher_Folders, and expect students to supplement the file by typing their ideas in the Notes section. If a teacher has already invested time in developing effective PowerPoint files, this strategy would give students full access to that material, as well as their own thoughts and interpretations of the material.
  • Notes in a Word Notebook would be in the form of a continuous outline; PowerPoint Notes would be like captions to each slide.
• Google_Docs allow students to take notes that can be shared with others. This encourages collaboration, but would need to be monitored if individual efforts were being tracked. Google_Docs would require online access at home to be useful for studying.